Chapter 7 - The Vale Settlement
Robert Vale had died in a Mercer-owned research facility when Victoria was sixteen.
The company investigation blamed faulty equipment.
A later private review suggested a senior executive had ignored safety warnings.
Ethan's father had signed the settlement.
Victoria sat in the library under police supervision while Nathan laid out the file.
"You think this gives you the right to hurt a baby?" Ethan asked.
Victoria's face twisted.
"Your family destroyed mine."
"Leo wasn't alive."
"He's a Mercer."
"He's fourteen months old."
For once, Victoria had no polished answer.
Nathan continued reading.
"The settlement included a college fund for Victoria and her brother."
Ethan frowned. "Brother?"
Victoria looked at the floor.
Nathan checked the page.
"Daniel Vale."
Sarah's skin prickled.
The male voice in the baby-monitor recording had not sounded exactly like Collins.
Maybe because it wasn't Collins.
Ethan said, "Where is Daniel?"
Victoria smiled again.
"You already know him."
The room went silent.
Sarah thought of every man who moved through the mansion.
Drivers.
Contractors.
Security.
Kitchen staff.
Then she remembered.
The new night nurse who had covered Leo's nursery twice while she was sick.
David Voss.
He had been hired through Collins.
Ethan called the agency.
There was no registered nurse named David Voss.
Police pulled his employee file.
The photograph showed a clean-shaven man with kind eyes.
Nathan ran a reverse identity search.
Daniel Robert Vale.
Victoria's older brother.
Ethan stood so quickly his chair fell.
"He was alone with my son."
Sarah felt sick.
Victoria watched him.
"Now you understand what it feels like to wonder whether the people inside your home are safe."
Ethan leaned over the table.
"If Daniel touched Leo--"
"What? You'll destroy him? Like your father destroyed ours?"
A police officer entered.
"Mr. Mercer, we located Mr. Collins's car."
"Where?"
"Train station garage."
"Collins?"
"Missing."
The officer handed Ethan a sealed evidence bag found in the trunk.
Inside was Collins's phone.
The last outgoing message was to Daniel Vale.
It read:
I'M OUT. THIS WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO INVOLVE THE BABY.
Sarah looked at Victoria.
"What was it supposed to involve?"
Victoria stayed silent.
Then Leo's baby monitor app sent Ethan an alert.
MOTION DETECTED - NURSERY.
They were all downstairs.
Leo was with a police officer.
Ethan opened the live feed.
A man stood in the nursery wearing David Voss's uniform.
May you like
Daniel Vale looked directly into the camera.
Then he held up Caroline's missing envelope.
